Director's Cuts - classic or dud

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Do you reckon that bringing out new "director's cuts" of films several years after their original release is a good idea? If so, why?

― The Real Dirty Vicar (dirtyvicar), Wednesday, 17 January 2007 10:28 (nineteen years ago)

Well, originally it was fine. Best example was "Betty Blue", the original film was about half the length and missed out most of the book. The 'directors cut' was more 'what the film should have been' and is accepted as such.

― mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 17 January 2007 10:34 (nineteen years ago)

Director's cuts = good, generally.

Not to be confused with UNSEEN/XXXTRA/MORE TITS Edition DVD releases, obv, which are generally bullshit marketing papfests.

― teh_kit (g-kit), Wednesday, 17 January 2007 10:59 (nineteen years ago)

I could have used a studio cut of Lord of the Rings, TBH.

― Euai Kapaui (tracerhand), Wednesday, 17 January 2007 11:04 (nineteen years ago)

I mean, aren't most director's cuts more "uncompromising" i.e. longer and less fun?

― Euai Kapaui (tracerhand), Wednesday, 17 January 2007 11:07 (nineteen years ago)

Aliens director's cut says "I was more fun!"
Alien director's cut says "I'm shorter!"

But generally, you're right.

― teh_kit (g-kit), Wednesday, 17 January 2007 11:09 (nineteen years ago)

The nonexistent studio cut of King Kong, too. I'm picking on Peter Jackson here but there are others.

― Euai Kapaui (tracerhand), Wednesday, 17 January 2007 11:23 (nineteen years ago)

teh-kit I never knew there was a different cut of Aliens! That's such a great movie to begin with it's hard to see how it could be better.

― Euai Kapaui (tracerhand), Wednesday, 17 January 2007 11:28 (nineteen years ago)

It's fairly decent. The added scenes are hit and miss. A few decent to fill out some characters, and they address the fact that Ripley has/had a daughter. The extra scenes with the remote sentry guns annoy me, though, they makes the aliens seem way less intelligent than the rest of the movie(s) make them out to be.

This was the first director's cut I ever bought, on VHS. I was about 14, maybe.

― teh_kit (g-kit), Wednesday, 17 January 2007 11:38 (nineteen years ago)

Aliens director's cut says "I was more fun!"

the original cinema release of Aliens is way better than the director's cut, which mostly differed by having a load of stupid scenes added into it.

― The Real Dirty Vicar (dirtyvicar), Wednesday, 17 January 2007 11:48 (nineteen years ago)

I mean, so Ripley had a daughte... big mickey.

― The Real Dirty Vicar (dirtyvicar), Wednesday, 17 January 2007 11:48 (nineteen years ago)

Hudson going on about ants was hilarious.
Newts' extra scenes at the start I'm unsure of, I kind of like the fact that the original movie sent you in with the marines not knowing what to expect (well sort of - unless you'd not read the movie title and seen the previous film)

― Ste (Fuzzy), Wednesday, 17 January 2007 11:51 (nineteen years ago)

In my opinion, Aliens DC was more fun.

The 'big mickey' of the daughter scenes is putting Ripley's relationship with Newt into perspective.

― teh_kit (g-kit), Wednesday, 17 January 2007 12:20 (nineteen years ago)

There are sometimes good reasons for scenes to be cut. Other times, films are massacred by distributors (ie the Weinsteins with most foreign films they got their mitts on).

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 17 January 2007 15:05 (nineteen years ago)

i prefer the theatrical versions of Aliens and Alien.

generally director's cuts are a bad idea unless the film really was badly mangled by the studio or pressure from test screenings, etc. etc. i.e Blade Runner.

― latebloomer aka freedom williams sr (latebloomer), Wednesday, 17 January 2007 16:12 (nineteen years ago)

the dvd cut of Close Encounters is shorter and less fun

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Wednesday, 17 January 2007 16:13 (nineteen years ago)

i've only ever seen the DC version of Dawn of the Dead, is it just some gore scenes they originally omitted?

― Ste (Fuzzy), Wednesday, 17 January 2007 16:18 (nineteen years ago)

if the movie was bad before the cut - no director's cut in the history of films has improved it.(correct me if im wrong)

if it was good - it doesnt matter.it is still good.
so its not classic nor dud.

― emekars (emekars), Wednesday, 17 January 2007 16:18 (nineteen years ago)

Director's cut of Apocalypse Now = dud
Director's cut of Donnie Darko = dud

― Revivalist (Revivalist), Wednesday, 17 January 2007 16:30 (nineteen years ago)

Apocalypse Now Redux is probably the most egregious DC in history, considering how Coppola destroyed the original negative of Apocalypse Now in order to make it. That just blows my mind.

― Edward III (edward iii), Wednesday, 17 January 2007 16:37 (nineteen years ago)

Blood Simple director's cut is a bit shorter.

if the movie was bad before the cut - no director's cut in the history of films has improved it.(correct me if im wrong)

My wife swears that the Kingdom of Heaven director's cut makes a bad movie good. I can't comment personally.

― do i have to draw you a diaphragm (Rock Hardy), Wednesday, 17 January 2007 16:42 (nineteen years ago)

A lot of these aren't really "director's cuts." They are revisions, enhancements, etc.

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 17 January 2007 16:43 (nineteen years ago)

usually the dc is worse

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Wednesday, 17 January 2007 16:44 (nineteen years ago)

The director's cut of the Butterfly Effect changes the film from unwatchable to hilarious.

― AllyzayEisenschefterBDawkinsFlyingSquirrelRomoCrying.jpg (allyzay), Wednesday, 17 January 2007 16:51 (nineteen years ago)

Apocalypse Now Redux is probably the most egregious DC in history, considering how Coppola destroyed the original negative of Apocalypse Now in order to make it. That just blows my mind.
-- Edward III (ehonaue...), January 17th, 2007.

it's not even a DC really, he just effectively put the 'deleted scenes' into the body text.

i just got the director's version of 'miami vice'. so far it's better (ie longer).

― the original hauntology blogging crew (Enrique), Thursday, 18 January 2007 10:59 (nineteen years ago)

We watched the director's cut of Donnie Darko last night. In some ways it is a total dud. Pointless tacky CGI segments; INXS replacing Echo & the Bunnymen during the gorgeous intro sequence; pointless explanations of the plot practically flicked up onto the screen as pages of a book except so fast you have to pause them to read them. But then again it does make the film a whole lot easier to understand - some might say in a bad way whereas the original leaves a lot open to suggestion. It also makes the whole thing a lot more far fetched than the original.

I never really and completely understood the significance of "dying alone" nor the bit about the spears growing out of people's chests.

― wogan lenin (dog latin), Thursday, 18 January 2007 12:28 (nineteen years ago)

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